Why the temperature in your offices directly affects your teams’ productivity

We invest in ergonomic chairs, adjustable screens and good lighting, yet we leave the thermostat to the whims of individual habits. However, office temperature and productivity is one of the best-documented – and one of the most overlooked – factors in workplace design.

What the field study shows

Alan Hedge, a professor at Cornell and director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory, conducted a one-month study in 2004 in the actual offices of an insurance company in Florida. Each workstation was fitted with a sensor that measured temperature every 15 minutes, with the data cross-referenced against employees’ typing speed and error rates.

The results are clear. By raising the temperature from 20°C to 25°C, the typing error rate fell by 44 per cent, and typing output increased by 150 per cent. At 20°C, employees were typing for only 54 per cent of the time, with an error rate of 25 per cent. At 25°C, this rate fell to 10 per cent, with almost continuous activity.

This is a field study carried out by a recognised university laboratory, which has since been widely reported in the scientific press, but it is not a peer-reviewed journal article like other research on urban planning. It remains a solid reference on the subject and should be treated as such: a strong indicator, not a universal law.

Why the ‘fresher, livelier’ assumption is misleading

It is commonly believed that a cool office keeps the mind alert, much like a gym. In reality, if the temperature is too low, part of one’s attention is taken up by managing physical discomfort – a cognitive resource that is therefore no longer available for the task at hand. See also our article on why ergonomics is so important at work, which explores other factors causing discomfort that silently erode performance.

Nor is there such a thing as a universal ideal temperature. The correct setting depends on the type of task, the season, and the people in the room.

How to adjust the temperature in an office

Aim for a temperature range of 23 to 25°C for workstations used for intensive office work. This is the area where the Cornell study found the best results for typing and accuracy tasks.

Adjust the temperature according to the purpose of each room. An open-plan data-entry area does not have the same requirements as a meeting room or a customer reception area.

Involve the teams in adjusting the settings, rather than having a single, locked thermostat. The feeling of having control over one’s environment reduces perceived stress in itself, regardless of the exact temperature.

Take thermal considerations into account right from the project design stage. The building’s aspect, the orientation of the windows, and the positioning of workstations in relation to the windows: these factors have a greater impact on actual comfort than adjusting the thermostat after the fact.

Combine thermal comfort with air quality. A room that is at a comfortable temperature but poorly ventilated negates some of the benefits.

What Wooh brings to a design project

Thermal comfort cannot be adjusted retrospectively with a thermostat. It is determined right from the layout stage: the building’s orientation, the positioning of workstations in relation to windows, the choice of materials, and the zoning of spaces according to their use. It is this kind of decision-making that the team at the Wooh design consultancy incorporates right from the design stage, alongside lighting, acoustics and circulation. To find out more, visit our design consultancy page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ideal temperature for an office?

The benchmark study indicates that peak performance for data entry tasks is around 25°C. Other tasks or profiles may vary slightly, but 23 to 25°C remains a good starting range.

Why does a room that is too cold make it difficult to concentrate?

The body diverts attention to cope with the discomfort caused by the cold, which reduces the cognitive resources available for the task at hand, even without the person being fully aware of it.

Does the temperature need to be the same throughout an office?

No. An area with high activity, a meeting room and a circulation area do not have the same thermal requirements; appropriate zoning is better than a one-size-fits-all setting.

How does Wooh incorporate thermal comfort into a design project?

Right from the design phase with the team of interior architects, taking into account the building’s orientation, the positioning of workstations in relation to the windows, and the zoning of spaces according to their use.